[Meta's Acquisition of Manus Case Escalates: China Punishes Involved Personnel, May Include Travel Restrictions for Executives] Odaily Planet Daily reports that the Chinese government is taking punitive measures against individuals involved in Meta's $2 billion acquisition of Manus. Manus is a Singapore-based AI startup with Chinese ties. Two sources familiar with the matter revealed that officials from China's National Development and Reform Commission convened a meeting with Meta and Manus executives late last week to express concerns about the deal. According to the sources, the scope of the Chinese government's actions remains unclear but appears to include restrictions on Manus executives traveling from China to Singapore. Meta spokesperson Andy Stone stated that the transaction fully complies with applicable laws and that the Manus team has now been deeply integrated into Meta. In January, Chinese officials had announced an investigation into whether the deal violated China's regulations on technology export approvals. This development comes at a sensitive time for U.S.-China relations. U.S. President Trump had originally planned to visit Beijing later this month to meet with Chinese leaders, but on Monday, Trump stated he had requested China to postpone the visit. Shengyu Wang, a research associate at the Asia Society Policy Institute, believes that China's scrutiny of Meta may be a tactic to gain leverage ahead of trade negotiations, while also sending a signal to Chinese AI researchers to deter them from following Manus's example.